Wednesday, September 09, 2009

I'm sitting here listening to the Current Occupant speaking to the Joint Session; so far, it's a pretty decent speech. Of course, the only big handclap he got from the Big Elephants is when he started talking about tort reform...sorta kinda.

It has been interesting to watch the proceedings, like when the Prez mentioned the "single-payer" system in Canada, and a few in the chamber applauded and when he said something else that someone didn't agree with, someone actually booed or something similar. Meanwhile, the Republicans are mainly sitting on their side, stony-faced, particularly when the President has called them out on some of the more ridiculous misrepresentations (like the infamous "death panels", brought up again by the recently unemployed ex-Gov. Palin). It's fun to see them silently planning the President's "Waterloo" (as said by one of their more prominent Senators) and trying to come up with a good sound bite for the good folks at Fox News in the coming days.

I'm hoping that something can be worked out, since there's still an awfully lot to do in a lot of things. Too bad the Right is letting itself get caught up in the moronic whining of the Becks, Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

I got up this morning to the disturbing concept of Mrs. Blue staring at me sleeping for the last half-hour (she said I was peaceful, yet I was dreaming of Littlest Blue being a vampire, while I was trying to get my new cordless weedwhacker to work), had to get up to the creaking of my increasingly creaky bones and joints to let our dog out and get the newspaper; upon opening to the front page, I read about the local controversy over the Current Occupant's plan to address school students via television. A local "parent" indicated that he'll not be letting HIS kids watch the Prez because they are "not a socialist family". I repeat, they are NOT a "socialist family". I repeat again, they are not a "SOCIALIST FAMILY". Does that sound as stupid as it is, repeated three times in a row? I mean, do they really think President Obama is going to tell little Jimmy and little Jane to make sure and read "Das Kapital" by Marx and use a highlighter to remember the good points?

What in literally God's name has happened to our beloved country? Did the collective IQ of our people drop suddenly? I realize that there's a lot of frustration over the economy and that not everyone agrees with the Administration's views and proposals, but there's something more at work here, because the vehemence and bitterness isn't explained by simple intellectual disagreement. When you see older folks at Town Hall meetings saying that they don't want the "Gummint" fooling around with "their" Medicare, obviously forgetting that Medicare IS a government program (and a successful one at that), it's pretty evident that some of the ancient distrust of anyone telling you what to do, while at the same time taking money from them, is at work. These folks would rather a large, for profit, corporate entity make decisions about their health care than their duly elected government; they'd rather a corporate CEO, paid in salary and compensation that would make the average #1 NFL draftpick envious, tell them what to think than have the guy who one the clear majority in the election last year advise their children to stay in school and study hard in a television show during 1st period.

Nope, someone once said that you cannot go broke overestimating the intelligence of the average American and I'm afraid they were right. A lot of these Average Joes are letting Hannity, Limbaugh and, heaven forbid, Glenn Beck do their "thinking" for them, or just reading a one-second blurb in a blog from a rabid right-winger who, once he/she logs off, probably is thinking about the power they feel knowing someone, actually a LOT of someones, read their dribble and really think it's true.

Now, some would read this and say, "Man, that Blue is an elitist!"; maybe I am, because I expect the best of our people, not the worst, but I'm afraid that recent events prove beyond all doubt that we're a county of sheep, following the loudest voices instead of looking around to see that most of them are wolves.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Well, another two or three week gap, but I'm back again. This time I'm waiting around until the monthy office birthday party (with cake, no less, from Costco) so that I can receive my 25-year service pin from the Boss.

I actually hit the 25-year mark last month, but because of my vacation in New England, I wasn't able to be here to take advantage of it. Now there are three others scheduled to get pins who actually have been here longer, if you can believe it, so some of the bloom, as they say, is off the rose.

Still, 25 years is a long time to be working in the same place. Even longer when you've been doing what I do, day in and day out, same old, same old, just about every minute of it. Most folks probably would have slit their wrists by now, left for greener pastures or have been found by the janitorial staff one night stiff with rigor mortis. I still basically enjoy what I do, with some exceptions, but I'm mainly staying because of (a) the paycheck, (b) the health insurance and (c) the retirement package.

Every once in a while you read something in a magazine or a newspaper about someone who swears up and down with a straight face that their work IS their passion and "Going to work just doesn't seem like work" to them. Now, IF I had one of those jolly souls in front of me, I'd probably kick 'em where it hurts, since they've managed to depress a lot of folks who are probably playing the lottery every week just hoping to win big and tell the Big Boss where he can put that low-paying, soul-sucking job. That's the wonder of our American Dream: Yes, you TOO can work at a job you hate while others brag about a job that they just absolutely love to get up in the morning and drive through Rush Hour traffic to get to.

Now my father-in-law has put it all into perspective for me, as he's been telling me the last few years since he's retired that the last few years of MY job will seem like going down a slope on a Teflon-coated pair of skis. Unfortunately, so far it feels more like I've been Super Glued to the floor of Death Valley.